"Patience, Haohmaru. With all that we have done, we must be careful, so as
to not damage the already tattered fabric of time."

Haohmaru looked annoyed at Hanzo, and was going to reply, when Charlotte
lightly jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

Hanzo, and the rest who had recently fell at the madness unleashed by both
Ryuji and Genjuro were lucky. This time, there were no fatalities.
Several people were severely hurt, and some needed a lot of time to heal,
before they could be of any help to the others. The main thing was that they
still lived.

"Hey Ling! What's up girl?"

"Hi Joe. I am thinking about what King's talking about. If there is
a way for us to--save the ones who died; I would rather have ended our
relationship on better terms. The way Rick and I..."

"Don't worry, kid-o. As crazy as it may seem, she does have a point. Until
this tournament, I wouldn't have believed time travel to be real. Whatever
she has planned, I'm sure it will work out. Then, you and Rick can take as
much time as you need. I'll be waiting for you."

"Thanks, Joe!" she threw herself around him, and hugged him tightly, and
they each kissed, knowing that it was all over.

"This is my idea. It isn't much, but I think it is a start. We use their
time traveling technology and not only do we return home, we use it to save
the lives of our friends."

"How do we do that? More importantly, how do we contact those guys in the
'future,' and tell them to pick us up?"

"Galford, I have an idea. Hisame, show them that strange thing we found."

"This, Rimururu?"

"It looks like a tracer of some kind. It's probably what they use to let
their men know to reopen it," Andy answered.

"Now that we have it, I think I know your plan, King. We have those bums
pick us up. Then, we use that, and get them before their moment of death,
right?"

"That's my plan, Ryo."

"Then let's go people! The sooner we get started, the sooner we can get back
to our lives."

"One thing, Sieger. They may not be too willing to simply give us control
of the machines. How are we supposed to gain control of it?"

There was that mischievous look in her eyes, one that was shared by her friends.

The portal opened, and the girls went through, and Mai's plan went into action.

It worked out perfectly. There were only four of them. They were almost instantly
met with a hostile home-coming, but with Mai's fast-talk, they were out of
it, and were making some hot moves on the guards. They were all trapped in
the ladies' spells, and were easy to take out. As if inspired with one thought,
each of them struck a guy in his groin, before slamming his head into the
ground.

"Osha! Let's..."

"What took you so long?" asked Mai.

"MAI! They're all out! Now how are we supposed to use this machine? None
of us know how to run it!"

"Oh. Sorry, Andy."

"I think I found the 'instruction manual.' But I can't understand a word
of it. It's, technical."

"Give it to me, Terry. This is my specialty."

It took Ling a few minutes to read through it, and to check how everything
in the book related to the actual machine. A few more minutes, and it was
running.

"Man, I love you, baby!"

"I know, Joe. Let's do it!"

With a few flips and turns, the machine was alive, and they went through,
to prevent the horrid deaths from ever occurring. They would appear as portals
of light right next to the person, and then pull them in. Thus, they were
sparred their deaths, and were to live a while longer. The explanation wasn't
satisfactory, but considering the alternative was death, they didn't argue.
They would complain about it later.

"Well, Haohmaru, I guess this is where we part."

"So it would seem, Terry."

"Listen, boys! This thing's running low on power. We are all here, but if
you guys ever want to get back home, you'll have to go now!"

"What about Amakusa, Geese..."

"It seems they had a fail-safe, Charlotte. They've already been warped to
their places, although they are still out. If you want to be there when
they are, then you had better move it!"

Each side took a last look, for respect of their opponents, and the Samurais
were gone, back to their own time.

II

No sooner had the portal closed behind them, than they were in the middle
of Amakusa's fortress, with his followers a around them, ready to engage
in combat.

"Isn't this where we left of?"

"Who cares, Galford? Let's rock!"

Again, as they had before, they tore into the soldiers. This time, they had
added help, from warriors who weren't a part of their initial group. It was
going faster than before, when they were suddenly scattered by a violent
blast.

"Fools! None shall challenge the might of Zankuro! All who do.."

"Are roadblocks to me. Now that I have my orb back, it is time for my revenge,
demon. Don't think I didn't know that it was you that had 'killed' me! Now,
we settle it!"

"Agreed. It will mean so much more when I kill a fighting fool."

In a blink, they were gone, and the entire fortress started to shake, and
crumble. Hanzo also vanished, determined to find his son, and free him from
his curse. The rest of them fled, knowing that if they stayed, they would
be crushed under it.

Now that they were far enough from it, they watched it from a distant hillside,
as smoke arose from it, and the building itself collapsed. What happened
to those still inside? What happened to Hanzo? Would they find out?

On the opposite side of the hills, Genjuro slowly pulled his way out of the few pieces of rock that had fallen on him. He was mad that he had lost the orb, and right out pissed that Haohmaru had gotten away from him again. One day...

"Now that this is over, I return to my sire, and to my bride."

"Keep well, Sieger."

"You also, Galford."

Kazuki and Sogetsu quietly left the group, as they had spotted their sister.
They promised to explain it to her, later. She had told them that they had
come, but friends warned her, and she was able to escape. She made her way
here, to where Kazuki had said they would be. She was glad to be with them
once more.
Everyone wished their friends luck, and parted.

"Hisame! You can stay with them. Charlotte and I can handle ourselves. You
want to be with Rimmy. Now, you'll be able to have a life that you need.
You won't get much of one with me. You've your chance, kid. Go for it!"

"Thank you, Haohmaru," he hugged his 'brother,' and followed them as they
went to the girls' village.

"I think you handled that well, Haohmaru. Your technique still needs improving,
but that will come, with enough practice."

"So, how about you help me to practice, Charoltte."

He took her hands in his, and brought her close to him. She could hardly
believe that he was finally making a move, without her getting him
to. Then, she pushed him away, but gently. She said it would wait until
nightfall, when they weren't out in the open, and could have privacy.

I swear, as long as I live, I'll NEVER understand women! Haohmaru then sighed,
and followed her, on their long journey back home.

"They are happy together, aren't they, Galford?"

"You know it. It looks like Hisame won't have much to worry about, now."

"Will you return to the US?"

"It doesn't matter where I go, so long as I can make sure justice is met,
just like it doesn't matter where you go to protect mother nature. Besides,
I wouldn't want you to get bored, with me not around."

No sooner had she opened her mouth, then he put his over hers, and caught
her with a deep kiss. Unfortunately, their animal friends pulled at them,
and they knew they had to move, before nightfall. Night wasn't the best time
to fight, as long as it could be helped. Later, they each thought.

III

"Once again, The Three Lone Wolves have emerged victorious. Chalk up another
win for the Master Of The Universe!"

"Actually, Joe, Terry is the one who came out on top."

"Hey! Would you stop ruining my perfect moments of victory! What is it with
you, anyway?"

"Oh, nothing much, Joe. You just happen to be an easy target!"

"I should show you you're place, Mai!"

"Oh no! Andy! Save me!"

"Not again..."

"You go, Joe!" encouraged Ling.

"I sometimes wonder about them, Terry. After all of this, and they can just
act like it hasn't even happened. I just can't forget about it that
easily, especially Ryuji..."

"It's ok, Mary. It's over now. It's time for us to live again, and worry
about the next fight when it comes."

"King, are you ok? You know you did very good. You made it all the way to
the finals. Out of us all, there was only one who could stop you. Maybe,
you'll win in a rematch...You're worried about Jan, aren't you?"

All she did was nod to answer him. Now that they were finally back, she had
to see her brother. He wasn't feeling too well, when she had left. She hoped
that by returning, it would help him, even if it was only a little. She would be glad to learn that it had.

"This isn't over!"

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

"Not again! Can't you two stay down?"

"You can only wish, Kim. The boss and I got other plans."

"Not so fast, Geese. You have forgotten about Krauser, and myself."

"Laurence? Krauser? Most, unexpected. Another time, then. Billy!"

"Have it your way, Geese. Krauser doesn't forgive so easily. Next time, it'll
be your end."

What Krauser didn't mention was that he was still feeling weak from the drug.
He could fight, but not for long. It wasn't fatal, but it was still enough
to drain him fast in a battle with any of them. Thus, the two crime lords,
with their escorts, left. Having allegiance to neither, Axel left on his own.

Several days had past, and they were all getting ready for their special
edition tournament. Half of the winnings were to go to local orphanages and
children's homes and hospitals. King had insisted on handling the new make-over of
the club, never once allowing Duck King to forget about his choice and what
happened last time.

"Hey! Get back here, you little brat! Kids aren't allowed in here!"

"It's ok, Tom. He's my brother."

"Thanks, sis. You've been so busy, since you've come back. You haven't spoken
to me much. I'm just wanting to see what's up."

She grabbed him tightly, and hugged her kid brother. He mumbled to ease
up, and she did, slightly red. He said he'd wait for her at home, and not
to be late!

"He's a good boy. He learns from a great guardian."

"You're trying to hit on me, Ryo."

"I guess I'm not that subtle, am I?"

"That's the way I like you."

"Think fast, Andy!"

"What?"

Mai was dressed in a wedding outfit, and tossed a bouquet to Andy. It landed
in his arms, and before he could react, she tackled him, and kissed him.

"If you ever break me with those stunts..."

"...It would be a miracle. Oh, you mean that way. That's ok; I've always
wanted to play nurse!"

Mai then whispered in his ear that instead of paying for her jeans he messed
up, she would join her and the girls while they went shopping. Mai giggled
again; Andy groaned.

Joe and Rick were training together. Each gave the other some pointers, and each had a new respect for the other man.

Rick let Ling go. They took some time, and they each came to an understanding. They would still keep in touch, which was enough for each. Each warned Joe that if he tried to keep in touch with Ling the wrong way, there'd be trouble.

"Come on! You really think that I would do that?"

"YES!" they each replied.

Then, they all laughed.

Terry knocked on Mary's door. She said he could come in. He asked if she
was ready to go. They still had another hour to go! Terry said it would be
good to leave early, to get a good warm-up. She snatched his cap, and threw
it across the room. She then grabbed his arms, and said that she'd give him
a warm-up he'd never forget!

So, there you have it! This ends FFvSS! The winners are the choices of the
voters. I hope it's been as fun to read as it has been to write. I'll soon
be posting what I plan to do next! Thank you all for your support! (=